The New England Patriots continue to fall into the abyss of irrelevancy as the team decided to extend safety Kyle Dugger for nearly $15 million per season. Dugger, 28, has been with the Patriots since being drafted back in 2020, and the Pats had applied the franchise tag to him at the beginning of the offseason.
This kept him from hitting the open market. Well, Dugger signs a deal that can be worth up to $66 million, and also gets $32.5 million guaranteed. It's a steep price to pay for someone who doesn't play a position that is all that valuable in the NFL. And when you consider just how saturated the safety market has been this offseason, the deal makes even less sense.
However, in keeping with their trend of being dysfunctional, the team decided to open up their checkbooks and hand Dugger a massive deal, all while the offense remains the least-talented unit in the NFL. The Patriots extending Dugger is almost like if you decided to buy a new car while your toilet leaks and your kitchen floor is all scraped up.
The team should have just traded Dugger for draft capital, as the Patriots are in need of a massive rebuild. To me, for a team being in the situation that the Patriots are in, the last position I'm investing a ton of resources into is the safety room. Now this isn't a dig on Dugger, as he's incredibly talented, but the Patriots should have explored trade possibilities.
And Kyle Dugger would already be 29 years old entering the second year of this contract. For the Patriots, they hold the third overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and shouldn't hesitate to take a QB that they have a high grade on. Beyond that, New England is still searching for a franchise left tackle, true difference-maker at wide receiver, and perhaps some more young pass-rush talent as well.